If you talk to a few hundred children under the age of seven in Chestermere, they’ll probably know me first and foremost as the “bee-guy.” For the past couple of years I’ve been invited to a number of schools to talk about my enthusiasm for honeybees. I regularly receive emails from parents who say, “my kid can’t stop talking about honeybees – thanks a lot!” (I’ll take that as a compliment). How is it that something so small as a honeybee can capture the imagination of a grown man and kids alike?
Here are a few surprising facts about the importance of the humble bee. These little insects are responsible for pollinating alfalfa and soybeans which are used to feed all kinds of livestock. Without honeybees we would say good-bye to most nuts, grapes, apples, most berries, citrus fruit, peaches, and many vegetables including broccoli, onions, squashes, and cucumbers. To put it simply, if our small bees disappeared, the grocery store would look pretty empty and the wellbeing of our families would be at risk. Small things really do have a big impact
When I started backyard beekeeping, my mentor would remind me to pay attention to the small details like the sounds and the movements of the bees. They were clues to the health of my bees. I’ve spent many hours with a lawn-chair pulled right up close to my beehive watching and learning as much as I could about them. I’m sure my neighbours have a bit of a chuckle when they see me relaxing with my bees.
Beekeeping has done something in me that I would not have expected. It has taught me the importance of paying attention to the small things in the rest of my life. If your life is like mine, every day is a flurry of details. Decisions at work, bills to pay, family activities, an upcoming birthday, or a growing to-do list can make each day feel like a whirl-wind. Taking time to see the small details in the midst of it all seems like a luxury that most of us can’t seem to afford.
Yet Jesus often talked about small things as being the most important things. He told stories about how in God’s eyes, little can be very significant. He said faith is like a small seed that grows into a big tree, and that our lives are like a pinch of salt that add flavour to the world around us. He also said that we are like a small lamp that lights up a room. Various leaders in Jesus’ day were talking about big things like pompous ceremonies, stately palaces, and political greatness. But for Jesus, he lived out of the belief that small acts of faith and small gestures of goodwill towards others really do make a difference because God takes the small things done in love and makes them great.
Into the Neighbourhood Experiment: Where, in your day, do you pass over the small things? Could a small gesture make a big difference in your life? In the life of someone you love? Try this week to spot the ‘small’ things that could make your neighbourhood a fantastic place to live.
